Tracks and Yaks
Tracks and Yaks
5
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About
Enjoy a great excursion along the great Allegheny passage. Departing from Historic Frostburg coasting east towards Cumberland
Frostburg, Maryland
Awards
Travelers' Choice
2023
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
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5.0
138 reviews
Excellent
124
Very good
6
Average
4
Poor
1
Terrible
3
Jen A
4 contributions
May 2021
What a unique and exhilarating experience! Riding a custom made "bike" on the railroad tracks. The only thing that would have made it better, would be to actually need to pedal. The rails are on a constant gradual incline and therefore gravity pretty much takes over lending to a nice breeze as you coast along. This can be considered a plus for some people, but for energetic people looking for a challenge the "Frostburg to Cash Valley" tour will sadly fall short. Maybe the "Frostburg Out and Back" tour will have more opportunity to pedal, but it wasn't operating yet.
The other reason I am not giving a 5 star rating is because the ride back to the station was supposed to be in a Trolley car. When I booked the tour it was not mentioned that it was not yet operational, so I was confused when we were directed to vans for our return to the station. Not the experience I expected.
They do offer military and senior discounts, but you must call to get a code when booking on-line. The bikes have baskets placed between the seats to hold your personal items.
The other reason I am not giving a 5 star rating is because the ride back to the station was supposed to be in a Trolley car. When I booked the tour it was not mentioned that it was not yet operational, so I was confused when we were directed to vans for our return to the station. Not the experience I expected.
They do offer military and senior discounts, but you must call to get a code when booking on-line. The bikes have baskets placed between the seats to hold your personal items.
Written June 1, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
mlm179
Baltimore, MD119 contributions
Sep 2021
I went to college in Frostburg and it's a place near and dear to me. As soon as I found about the rail bike tours, I knew I needed to do it! A large group of us decided to go together (15 in total) ranging in age from 5 to 80+ and every single person loved it!
The crew running it were super friendly and nice. Prior to the trip, they will email you the link to sign the online waiver...sign the waiver online!! It saves time on the day of your tour.
The ride itself was fantastic - beautiful scenery, mostly downhill, and a brief history lesson about the area along the way. When you get to the end, you hop on a trolley or bus and they drive you back to the Depot where the ride started.
If you have time to do this, I highly recommend it!
The crew running it were super friendly and nice. Prior to the trip, they will email you the link to sign the online waiver...sign the waiver online!! It saves time on the day of your tour.
The ride itself was fantastic - beautiful scenery, mostly downhill, and a brief history lesson about the area along the way. When you get to the end, you hop on a trolley or bus and they drive you back to the Depot where the ride started.
If you have time to do this, I highly recommend it!
Written September 20, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Shawnna E
1 contribution
Jun 2021 • Couples
This place was wonderful! I was searching for something like this for so long but didn't want to make the drive so when I found out how close these guys were I jumped at the opportunity. The booking process was very simple and explained how everything worked. When we first got there we checked in, waited for everyone to get there and had a rundown of the safety guidelines and how the trip would work. Mark, one of the guides, was very informative and helped out with any questions we may have had. You aren't super close to other groups so you have privacy without feeling lost. Throughout the trip, there are several stops to see the scenery and get a lesson on the area. During our ride, I lost my hat because of the wind, it wasn't a big deal at all to me, but the other guide Daren was lovely and looked for it on his way back and found it! Highly recommend this rail bike and I will definitely be back
Written June 7, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
boilerbc
Harrisonburg, VA28 contributions
Jun 2021 • Family
This was a fun trip for all of us. I only take 1 star away because the chain was loose on mine and fell off multiple times. Because of this I was unable to pedal and I was the main source of power generation for our group. They did not carry anything to tighten the tension sprocket and at the end of the trip another one of leaders noticed and said "Sorry about that." That's what bothered me the most. But the lady back at the depot was kind enough to refund a reasonable amount without much complaining which was fair. They did a decent job of talking about some of the history at stopping points and on the way back. Interesting about the Savage area rail industry. We would do it again and I bet the fall season would be beautiful.
Written June 22, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
James N
Potomac, MD1 contribution
Aug 2023
Did the Helmstetter Hotshot, our family of 4 and we brought along house guests, 5, so there was 9 of us total. For us personally this was the 4th or 5th time we've done this (we've lost count, but at least 4 times) and as always we were looking forward to the experience.
The weather was in the high 70's, low 80's, the crew supporting the ride were friendly and helpful, and gravity worked as well as it usually does in getting us down the mountain. Yes, there's a pedal function to this carts, BUT you start off with a 3% incline (you're going down 3 ft horizontally for every 100 ft vertically) which means essentially that as soon as you get started gravity practically does all of the work. After the first stop on the way down the incline decreases to about 1 to 0.5%, but no fear, MINIMAL effort on the pedals, you're coasting for a good part of the way.
You're able to kick up a good speed on the way down, but you're not able to pedal to the point of recklessness - the cart gets to a certain speed and at that point the work put into the pedals is essentially only going to spin the pedals vice transfer any additional energy to the cart itself, so the speed stays pretty much constant.
The view was wonderful, and overall the whole ride was relaxing. I'm looking forward to doing this again in the fall to see the foliage changes, and I'm interested in the new setup that they have in Berlin, MD, which is about the same distance for us as Frostburg is.
I highly recommend this experience, it's worth what you put into it and I think it'd be hard pressed to not be a good time for all. FYI, our house guests, who had never done this before, which included 3 adults with 2 children aged 8 and 11, loved it.
The weather was in the high 70's, low 80's, the crew supporting the ride were friendly and helpful, and gravity worked as well as it usually does in getting us down the mountain. Yes, there's a pedal function to this carts, BUT you start off with a 3% incline (you're going down 3 ft horizontally for every 100 ft vertically) which means essentially that as soon as you get started gravity practically does all of the work. After the first stop on the way down the incline decreases to about 1 to 0.5%, but no fear, MINIMAL effort on the pedals, you're coasting for a good part of the way.
You're able to kick up a good speed on the way down, but you're not able to pedal to the point of recklessness - the cart gets to a certain speed and at that point the work put into the pedals is essentially only going to spin the pedals vice transfer any additional energy to the cart itself, so the speed stays pretty much constant.
The view was wonderful, and overall the whole ride was relaxing. I'm looking forward to doing this again in the fall to see the foliage changes, and I'm interested in the new setup that they have in Berlin, MD, which is about the same distance for us as Frostburg is.
I highly recommend this experience, it's worth what you put into it and I think it'd be hard pressed to not be a good time for all. FYI, our house guests, who had never done this before, which included 3 adults with 2 children aged 8 and 11, loved it.
Written August 10, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
biiigWALT
Hixson, TN14 contributions
Oct 2022 • Family
Who would operate a bike rental business without having bicycles available for kids? The answer is: Tracks and Yaks.
I reserved 4 bikes, 2 -Adult \ 2 -Child and signed their liability forms per their website to ride from Frostburg back to Cumberland after riding the train up from Cumberland. When we arrived a young man had several adult bikes waiting but no small bikes for my Grandsons. When we inquired about the malfunction, we were offered a small girls bike and another medium sized bike that was still way too large for my 8 year old Grandson to ride.
The proprietor stopped by and basically brushed us off with the attitude that this is the only small bike he had.
After several minutes of discussion about our options I inquired about a tandem bike for 2 which would have at least allowed my grandson to ride with me & complete our trip. I was told that the tandem bike had never been out of the shop.
After the proprietor showed me a disclaimer stating riders must be a certain height -I asked him why his website offers a "Child" selection box?
Of course, there was no reply.
We took the train back to Cumberland, but not before I made the proprietor tell my Grandsons (6 & 8) he did not have any bikes for them.
Thanks a lot for taking my $181 & spoiling our trip!!
I reserved 4 bikes, 2 -Adult \ 2 -Child and signed their liability forms per their website to ride from Frostburg back to Cumberland after riding the train up from Cumberland. When we arrived a young man had several adult bikes waiting but no small bikes for my Grandsons. When we inquired about the malfunction, we were offered a small girls bike and another medium sized bike that was still way too large for my 8 year old Grandson to ride.
The proprietor stopped by and basically brushed us off with the attitude that this is the only small bike he had.
After several minutes of discussion about our options I inquired about a tandem bike for 2 which would have at least allowed my grandson to ride with me & complete our trip. I was told that the tandem bike had never been out of the shop.
After the proprietor showed me a disclaimer stating riders must be a certain height -I asked him why his website offers a "Child" selection box?
Of course, there was no reply.
We took the train back to Cumberland, but not before I made the proprietor tell my Grandsons (6 & 8) he did not have any bikes for them.
Thanks a lot for taking my $181 & spoiling our trip!!
Written October 18, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Donna W
North Huntingdon, Pa, United States9 contributions
Aug 2021
This is something really worth doing. Two 70 year young along with our 13 year old grandson spent 2 great hours going down the Mountain. All really enjoyed this. The people working where very professional and made sure you would safely go down the mountain. As someone who has bicycled this section of the GAP, it was a pleasure to get this view of the trail.
Written August 27, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mari V
3 contributions
May 2021 • Friends
Our favorite part of our experienced on the custom rail car was how easy it was to Peddle. Any age group can do this . Of course the scenery was lovely. We picked the best day hot and sunny however, most of the trip is in semi shade so it was a wonderful cooling experience while going downhill. The entire staff were entertaining, helpful and knowledgeable. Can't wait to do it again.
Written May 30, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Amy H
Pittsburgh, PA12 contributions
Jun 2021
What a great experience. We loved the whole thing. The owners and staff were so friendly. We were given safety instructions and were checked to be sure all was right before we took off. There was very little pedaling needed and we were going at good speed. They space you out so you can enjoy the ride with just your group. You will stop and gather in the middle of the journey at a beautiful overlook and they will give you some history. We saw a deer and a turtle on our coast down the mountain, along with some beautiful hills, a tunnel and picturesque farms. The guides made the ride and the bus ride back to the depot fun. They offered advice on other things to do in the area and places to eat. If you are looking for a family activity, try this out. Our 15 and 12 year old daughters loved this.
Written June 21, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
dvheatley
Ridgeley, WV10 contributions
Oct 2021
Yesterday two of my friends and I did the Tracks and Yaks ride in Frostburg, MD. We had a great time! It was a different experience as we'd ridden the train other times. We got lucky in that it rained in the morning but stopped in time for our ride! Knowing how the weather can be, we dressed appropriately so we were very comfortable rolling down the mountain! It was easy to ride, we did not have to pedal the whole time, in fact, we coasted almost the entire way. The staff at Track and Yaks were great! Friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable. We enjoyed ourselves so much we plan to ride again in the spring when things start to bloom!
Written October 24, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tracks and Yaks - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)
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